People try to take good care of the external surface of their bodies as well as those of their pets to enable good overall health. Specific skin related issues that people care about include, good skin health free of infections, good skin tone and skin hygiene. Skin hygiene is generally achieved by keeping them free of infections. One way to tackle infections is to treat them with antimicrobials after the infection has set in. Another approach is to leave a minimal amount of antimicrobial active on the surface so that any invading microorganism is killed or inactivated so as to minimize spread of disease. Yet another approach is improving the innate immunity of the desired surface.
There are different antimicrobial compositions known in the art;
WO 2010/046238 (Unilever, 2010) discloses an antimicrobial composition for cleansing or personal care. It is an object of the present invention to provide antimicrobial compositions that have relatively fast antimicrobial action. Present inventors have surprisingly found that compositions comprising selected ingredients, namely thymol and terpineol, in selective propositions provide relatively quick antimicrobial action.
WO 13/017967 (KIMBERLY CLARK, 2013) discloses an antimicrobial cleansing composition comprising: a polar carrier solvent; from about 0.1 percent (w/w) to about 15 percent (w/w) cationic compatible surfactant; from about 0.01 percent (w/w) to about 10 percent (w/w) quaternary ammonium biocide; and a cationic compatible afterfeel agent, wherein the antimicrobial cleansing composition is substantially free of a betaine-based surfactant and substantially free of a compound selected from the group consisting of triclosan, triclocarban, a halogenated phenolic antimicrobial agent, and combinations thereof.
US 2010 222433 (SHANGHAI JIUYU BIOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY, 2010) Discloses A composite disinfectant cleaner which, on a total composition weight basis, comprises: (a) about 0.5-0.7 weight percent of an alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (b) about 0.3-0.5 weight percent of an octyl decyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (c) about 0.1-0.2 weight percent of a dioctyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (d) about 0.2-0.3 weight percent of a didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (e) about 0.5-2 weight percent of an alkylamine (f) about 0.3-1.5 weight percent of a guanidine (g) about 10-20 weight percent of a penetrant (h) about 5-10 weight percent of a surfactant (i) about 0.1-0.6 weight percent of a chelant (j) about 0.05-0.1 weight percent of an essence (k) the balance being deionized water.
WO 15051260 (Crawford Keith D, 2015) discloses Compositions, methods, and kits are provided for regenerating or treating skin cells using a composition with a biologic such as an antimicrobial peptide (AMP). The composition includes at least one of: a safe and effective amount of a vitamin B3 molecule; silicone elastomer; antioxidant; and a dermatologically acceptable carrier. The AMP is, for example, H2A, H1, H6, HDL, Sal-2, a defensin, a hepcidin, an apidaecin, a cathelicidin, or a piscidin. The AMP includes, for example, a peptide represented by the formula: APKAMX1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8LQKKGI, such that X1 and X8 represent basic amino acid residues; X2 and X3 represent hydrophobic amino acid residues which may be the same or different residues; X4 and X5 represent basic amino acid residues which may be the same or different residues; X6 and X7 represent hydrophobic amino acid residues which may be the same or different residues.
Specifically in the present days the number of contagious diseases are spreading more rapidly as we are exposed to social life like never before. We greet people by shaking hands and then we use the same hands for eating foods. Therefore there is always a chance of spreading contagious disease causing microbes from one person to another either through hand or any other kinds of contact. Therefore in the current days there is a need for an antimicrobial composition which provides prolonged/long-lasting antimicrobial benefits. Furthermore we have found that some of the antimicrobial agents though good, however because of their unpleasant attributes like smell are not very attractive at higher concentration. Also higher concentration of antimicrobial agent tends to kill the microorganisms which are believed to be beneficial for skin health.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an antimicrobial composition.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an antimicrobial composition with prolonged/long-lasting benefits.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an antimicrobial composition wherein the amount of known antimicrobial agents are minimized.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a topical composition that provides innate immunity to a topical surface of a human or animal body.
The present inventors have surprisingly found out that an antimicrobial composition which comprises very less amount of thymol and terpineol along with a specific amount of Niacinamide or its derivatives thereof is able to provide prolonged/long-lasting antimicrobial benefits and thereby satisfying one or more of the objects of the invention. Furthermore it is observed that further presence of an Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) actually boosts the antimicrobial property of the composition.